


Movie Night

by hanzhoe



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: F/F, F/M, Good times, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, bad language, demon scooby gang solves a mystery, gender neutral reader, we're not fridging Kyrie she'll be part of this soon enough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 11:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15840798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanzhoe/pseuds/hanzhoe
Summary: A box of VHS tapes you hunted down holds the key to finding a previously unknown Hellgate and a cult that feeds unsuspecting actors to demons for reasons unknown.And to make matters worse, the movies they make from it are shit anyway.





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> buckle up, we're in this together.

You throw yourself down into the rotten couch that decorates (in the loosest sense of the word) the warehouse you share with your friends in a manner that screams 'Ask Me What I Did Today' and make steady eye contact with Nero, his feet up on the desk across from you. Naturally, being as they are, Nico is too busy to look up and see your theatrics and Nero takes great joy in refusing to play along, instead engaging in a silent staring competition until your serious façade breaks and you beam at him with altogether too much joy for someone whose life is spent hunting and killing creatures from the depths of hell.

"What?" He finally relents and as if you've been waiting for the magic word you throw him a VHS that he catches easily, reflexes sharp as ever, in response. You keep beaming as he tries to read the handwritten title on the spine, the culmination of all your investigative alone time rather than spending the rare breaks the three of you got eating pizza and chilling.

"It's my snuff film!" You chirp happily as Nero goes from holding the VHS normally to between thumb and forefinger like it might start oozing something untoward and Nico pauses what she's doing to look up at you with an expression halfway between amused and concerned.

"Uh, honey?" She starts, gesturing at you with a loose wrist and screwdriver, "I know we're all close 'n all but, some things? You just need to keep to yourself." Before you can clarify, Nero makes a noise in confused agreement, like he can't believe what you've just said.

"You? _You're_ into that sort of thing?"

Your heavy sigh heaves your shoulders visibly and two pairs of eyes watch you with varying levels of wariness, worried for their mental imagery, whatever you say next.

"Okay. Bad phrasing."

"No shit."

"Fuck off, Nero. Anyway." You jazz hands with a dash of sarcasm, "Demons!" You pause. "Well, cultists mostly I assume. But demons are _definitely_ a part of it."

The expression on the faces of your friends speaks for itself. It says _'What the fuck are you talking about.'_

"Okay, so," Leaning forward on the ratty sofa, you set the stage for what you've been dying to talk about for weeks, "You know how I trawl those forums for demon sightings 'round the country?" You pause until they nod, arm repairs forgotten at Nico's worktable while she rests her chin on the heel of her palm to watch you, Nero having set the VHS on his desk and moved to mirror your pose-- leaning forward in his chair and answering your unspoken question of if he knew how to sit in it properly. "Well some of those forums? _Real_ shitfests. Just….the trash of the internet. But hey! Dumpster diving turns up a gem every now and then IRL so why not online, right?" Nero rolls his eyes at that and cuts across you.

"Yeah, don't need a reminder of your _weirdest_ fuckin' habit."

"Hey, you don't chat this much shit when I find scrap for Nico to work her magic on so _shut_."

"Oh he totally does, honey."

"Yeah, true. Guess I was mixing up my hopes with reality again"

"Are you two done?" He huffs like the teen you first met him as and not the twenty-somethings the three of you currently are. You and Nico share an amused glance. "The _point_? Internet dumpster diving? You found something or else you wouldn't have this...freaky tape." You finger gun. He groans. You take a breath before you continue.

"So on the back end there's the usual, right? Drugs, weapons--" You break off to beam at Nico a moment and wink, "--snagged you some rad mecha shit, thank me later. _Anyway_ there's this one guy selling a metric _fuckton_ of VHS tapes of what _he_ calls 'Homemade Horror' but what _I_ call _Bullshit_."

You shift your weight on the sofa so you don't get eaten by the cushions, their attention rapt.

"So he's uploaded a coupla teaser clips, right? To tickle your balls as it were--"

"--Fuck's sake--"

"Yeah, that's the point, Nero. He's tagged this shit with 'kink' would you believe? Again, mostly it looks like shitty...Z-List, Windows Movie-Maker, schlock horror. Screaming damsels, fake blood, extreme close-ups on homemade props-- the whole nine yards, but the last clip? I'm not one hundred percent on how it got in there, but it's from the vid I chucked you." You gesture at the item in question while talking, "Three guys, two flashlights, one camera. They're chewing the scenery of this 'Haunted House' the 'story's' set in before they happen across a portal to the Underworld and get ripped to shreds by the creatures coming through. Except this time? _Real_ . I watched that clip a hundred times over and compared it to the others a million times more. Either those guys are _amazing_ method actors, or  that third prick's luring unsuspecting Brad Pitt wannabes into becoming demon chow."

There's a long silence after you finish, during which all three of you mull on the consequences this dredges up.

"Poor fuckers." Is Nico's subdued reply, shaking her head before casting her eyes down to the tape and back up at you. "So you went and bought the tape to find out where the Hellgate is? 'Spect nothin' less from the sharpest tool in this shed." You grin at her praise, but it turns into a smug smile partway as you sweep your gaze between them.

"Kinda. Actually I bought that wholeass _fuckton_ of VHSes and I need help unloading the boxes from the van. I need to run analysis on _every last damn tape_ so you know what that means."

"Great." Nero says dryly, as though he hadn't just been still and silent as the grave, lips pursed and brow furrowed with that look in his eye he got whenever he heard about civvies getting minced. " _Movie Night_."

"I'll make popcorn!" Nico calls, already up and making her way to the corner you'd worked so hard to designate the Kitchen; little gas hob and 'reclaimed' mini fridge with a microwave you'd almost certainly stolen and she'd almost certainly beefed up in ways you didn't want to contemplate. You turn back to Nero and stand, rolling your shoulders and massaging the base of your spine to undo some of the damage the done while you sat. His eyes are pinned to your face and he watches you with a look you can't quite pinpoint that unnerves you just a touch. Still, you push past it and wave him over as you turn your back to return to the van.

"That just leaves you 'n me for the heavy lifting!"

The clomping of his army boots is the only indication he's following you, unusually quiet and setting the hair on the back of your neck to prickle--you can't help but wonder what switch flipped to make him broody again, but you get your answer soon enough. Once you've both reached the haphazardly parked (you never _did_ get your driving license) van and you turn to face him and shoot off a one-liner, but he continues to advance on you until your back hits metal and his arm comes up next to your head.

" _What_ were you thinking?" Despite the seemingly outward aggression to his body language, his voice is gentle and strained. "Going _alone_?"

Bristling, you set an arm over his shoulder and your expression into a frown.

"I was _thinking_ that you 'n Nico needed a fuckin' _rest_ after the past week _demon-wrecking_ and I can go meet with internet weirdos by myself, _thankyouverymuch_."

His look doesn't change and it's then you pinpoint the feelings behind it: concern, and no small amount of pain. While your blood rushes away from your face, your shame rises. Of course he'd feel leery about your lone wolfing it. Kyrie, his Dad, his Uncle. He's so lackadaisical and foulmouthed, sometimes you forget just _why_ he shacked up with you and Nico.

"Hey," You start again, setting your other arm over his shoulder and looping them around his neck, your voice softer and sincere in a way you reserve for occasions like this, when you need to get your feelings across and have them listen. "I'm a big kid, babe. I've got more magic than any rando cult guy could ever manage."

Nero exhales like he's been holding his breath and rests his forehead against yours, the arm that'd been keeping you in place in case you tried to escape the conversation instead slinging around your waist loosely. His other's still on that workbench back in the warehouse, but there's nothing missing between the two of you except personal space that neither of you mind too much.

"And if they block your magic?" He asks, and you feel his eyebrow raise against your own. You wince at the memory of the incident he's referencing.

"I got that knife you got me for my birthday last year."

"And if they get your knife?"

You snort. "If they get their dirty paws on my fuckin' knife everyone has more to worry about than _magic dampeners_ ." His eyes bore into you, waiting for the _real_ answer and not the sentimental one about how much you love that gift. It's your turn to heave a sigh before continuing like a chastised child. "Nico's emergency translocator. I _know._ " And you do. You layer the last word with meaning that he picks up on, evident by the way his arm tightens slightly. You _know_ why he's so protective of you and Nico, despite knowing the two of you are more than capable on your own, you _know_ why he needs to hear it from you that you'll call for back-up if needed.

You _know_ he sure as hell wouldn't in the same position because he hates tangling either of you in things he considers 'His Issues'.

He knows you'll be the one pulling this manoeuvre the next time _he_ tries something like this.

"As touchin' as this scene is--" A voice calls from the doorway behind Nero and you lean back from him a moment to peer over his shoulder at Nico, cheerily tossing popcorn into her mouth from what appears to be the crystal fruit bowl you swiped last week from an _actual_ haunted mansion. She points a finger at the two of you and speaks through a half-full mouth, "--Unless you're plannin' on invitin' me to your lil lovefest right now, all your crap is still in my van, darlin'."

You laugh as Nero pulls away from you with an exaggerated roll of his eyes and you take the chance to steal a short kiss from him before sauntering over to Nico and planting one on her too, taking the sweet distraction to lift the bowl out of her hands and stepping back in victory.

"Looks like my hands are full, so I guess I'm the one that has to go drag out a VHS player and you two have to unload our entertainment for the next four nights!"

You're gone before either can protest.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr over [ Here](http://ofrawrites.tumblr.com/). i take requests and post smaller bits i don't feel warrant AO3 yet.


End file.
